The Black Sea Shore
by Ali Sim Alice
Summary: RPF. It's seven years into the future and things are about to change in the Bulgarian city of Varna for Nina and Ian... Maybe for the better.
1. Prologue: Nikolina

Prologue: Nikolina

Nina dove into the sea in what felt like a blissful feeling of freedom. Today, her husband Marco would've been turning 39… would've. The past tense hurts more than grammar books may or may not anticipate. Two years without him, two years of raising their baby alone.

The loneliness had subsided, there wasn't much time for feeling sorrow or depressed. She was a working woman, trying as best as she could to raise her daughter right whilst balancing a hectic acting career and working as a plastic artist simultaneously. Besides that, she still was obliged to make it home to Bulgaria—to where her parents had decided to move back—for vacations and Christmas holidays.

Right now, as the cool water felt like heaven on her skin, a relief from the pitiless summer sun, nothing bothered her, nothing could bring her down… but perhaps the next big wave.

As she swam she remembered how life had been simple, just a few years ago. Maybe not a few, but seven. She played multi characters on the Vampire Diaries, was well acclaimed, partied, had loads of fun, travelled a lot… the only worries on her mind back then had been whether or not she would make it to another day of work, of the journey that was life without Ian Somerhalder as her companion, as he had been for a little over three years.

They barely spoke these days, except on special occasions, Christmas e-cards, birthday emails, and sometimes ten minutes of Skyping. Ian had gotten married two years after their break-up and that had been a turning point in her life. The hopes of them one day being together again, as in love as they used to be shattered and ignited in her a strength that she didn't know was in her. It could've been her dressed in a beautiful white gown, inside one of those beautiful, ancient churches of New Orleans, saying her vows to the man she had dedicated herself 100% to for years and was prepared to do so for the rest of her life.

However, the hurting diminished with the months that passed and Nina found herself all the more closer to her origins, her roots here in Bulgaria. Spending more time with her grandparents, great-grandmother and in the country itself had made her more in touch with a more mature Nina, a Nina who was enamored with herself and with the place she was, doing what she did. She had gone back to the stage, something she had wanted for years... Theatre, dance, small audiences, applauds and trips to the nearby Irish-style pub for some nice beer and easy conversation.

On some occasions, she went home with someone, had a great night, slightly awkward mornings—or not—and life was good. It was in one of those nights though, that she met the man she would love enough to marry. Marco.

But that was a whole other story Nina didn't feel like diving into today.

"Nikolina, Nikolina!" She heard her mother cry out for her.

As her chains of thoughts were broken, she emerged from the sea a slightly different Nina. Here she was simply Nikolina, Eva Dobreva's mother.


	2. Prologue: Ian

Prologue: Ian

Once more he knocked on his daughter's bedroom door. Once more Natalie had hurt her; once more she said "No, Flora, I can't come visit you… I have too much work." Seeing the look of pure, childlike hope leave her eyes and tears beginning to form, Ian knew it was time for an intervention. He would give his ex-wife an ultimatum, or she changed and dedicated more of her time to their child or he would take this to court and ask for full custody, Natalie would have not a single right over their daughter anymore.

Flora hadn't said a word in two days now, even her teacher, Ms. Potter who Flora initially loved because of her new obsession with the Harry Potter books, had noticed and warned Ian. They both had never seen a child behave in such a way… indifferent. As a parent, Ian grew afraid, was it some sort of neurological condition that had been triggered? Did Flora fall and he hadn't noticed?

He hoped with everything he had that this was just a phase, that it would pass soon and his five-year old would speak again, tirelessly as she used to and with the same joy and emotion. However, walking home with her from school, Nietzsche on tow, seeing her big blue eyes stare only at her tows and Flora huff now and then he knew that his daughter was going through a period of great frustration and obviously it had to do with Natalie. He saw as whenever a mother passed with her children, Flora would look away and stomp all the more on the sidewalk.

He called his mother for advice and she agreed, Flora felt rejected and with perfect reason, she had all the right to feel bad, angry, sad, hurt… but her behavior Edna had no idea what to do about. Ian and the rest of her siblings had grown up for the better part distanced from their father, but with them, Edna couldn't recall any breakdowns or anything similar, she had been perfectly able to fill in the role of the mother and the father, plus, Ian's grandfather had always been very close, living across the street and all. Grandpa Leo had been a good father figure.

As a mother to multiple children each one with a different personality, Edna Somerhalder knew that no child was like the other, so there wasn't much she could do but suggest that Ian take her away for an early break or something, abandon the routine for a while, that or visit a shrink.

Flora opened the door to her bedroom with her globe in her arms and a facial expression that Ian had grown quite familiar with, decisive.

"Daddy, I wanna go here… I want to see if it's really black." She said unwavering and Ian followed her finger to a country in Europe he was well familiar with, if not physically, but personally. Nina was Bulgarian and God had he enjoyed watching her babble away on the phone with her family and friends in the foreign language, it sounding beautiful and rapid, easily rolling from her tongue. He remembered the excellent wine and the beautiful dances he knew Nina performed in as a youngster… He had never visited the black sea. Why not? Summer vacation was only a week away…

"Me too, little flower." Ian hugged his daughter tight against his chest, glad she had finally spoken to him and very relieved that maybe, just maybe, he'd be enough for her.


	3. Chapter One

Nina sat on her sofa; her daughter was snuggled on her lap as they went through a family photo album. Eva followed her mother's finger as she pointed out each relative. "That's great-grandmother Nikolina on her wedding day, wasn't she beautiful? Mama's named after her."

As Nina was about to turn the page Eva stopped her by pressing her small palm above Nina's hand. Eva leaned on Nina's chest and sighed, staring into nothingness and Nina decided it was enough for the evening, closing the large leather bound album and setting it beside her. Nina ran her hand gently through her little girl's hair, humming Brahms' lullaby, which Eva considered to be _their_ song and in no time the chubby three year old was fast asleep. Nina kissed the top of Eva's hair and watched her baby girl sleep, wishing she didn't have to grow up so quickly.

…

As Nina went to retrieve the photo album from her living room, after tucking her daughter in, she couldn't help but notice a photograph sticking out from it. Nina pulled out the picture and smiled fondly at the picture of herself, merely twenty three years old, with a happy glow on her face and an even happier one in her eyes. In this particular photograph, she was sitting on Ian's lap, his arms around her waist. His head was tucked at the crook of her neck and his smile was goofy as he looked up for the picture.

"Hmm, weren't we cute, Mr. Smolder…?" Nina smiled to herself and found a new plastic covered page to place the picture in.

…

By the time Eva woke up at eight in the morning Nina had already cleaned the house, fed the pets and spoken on the phone with her cousin Miriam who was taking a couple of days off from her job as Secretary of Culture of the capitol, Sofia, confirming that in two days she would be able to look into Miriam's giant cat-like green eyes and pour her soul out to her. For the past three years, since she decided to take up residence in Bulgaria, Miriam and Nina had been each other's rocks and confidants, such as when they were little.

The day seemed beautiful, from the large bay window Nina looked out of, a good day to take Eva to the park and maybe for a nice lunch at the pier.

Nina heard the soft pit-pat of her daughter's feet on the hardwood floor and chuckled to herself, _thinking of the little devil…_

Eva approached her from behind, as quiet as a mouse and Nina already knew she'd attempt at scaring her, so she acted first, surprising Eva who let out a small scream and then began laughing. Nina loved Eva's laugh… so loud, silly, pure, sincere… There was nothing in the world she could compare her love of Eva to. As her little girl ran off, expecting Nina to chase her, her home phone began ringing. As Nina frantically looked for it under the pillows, duvet and on the nightstand, Eva ran back into the room and pressed the answer button.

"'lo?" She said proudly. "hmm…" She replied into the phone. As she seemed to hear a response, Eva grinned widely.

"Eva, who is it?" Nina asked. Eva shrugged, not knowing herself, but continued to chit chat. Typical Eva…

"Hmm, okay… Oh." Eva seemed alarmed by something and without saying goodbye, passed the phone over to her mother and then climbed on top of the bed.

"Hello?" Nina answered as she shooed her daughter from the bed, her toes were filthy from walking around barefoot and her bedspread was a pearly white.

…

Ian had just woken up, a tad too early and decided he'd write to an old friend. As he looked through his email for her address, he found it and couldn't believe it had been an entire year since they last were in touch. A little bit anxious and a little bit nervous he began typing on his computer.

…

Later that day, as they returned exhausted from the park, Nina sent Eva into her bathroom for a bubble bath before dinner. As she scanned her mailbox, iTunes playing Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's version of "Let's call the whole thing off", from the movie "Top Hat", two new emails arrived, that left her almost breathless. One was the much awaited email from Luce Verney, the director of a famous theatre who watched her play in Prague and became interested, offering her an entire season in London. The question was if the theatre's board members would also approve.

The other email was from Ian Somerhalder, something Nina really didn't expect… Funny how karma worked sometimes, just yesterday she'd been thinking about him.

Nina clicked first on Luce's email and was excited to read that 9 out of 12 board members approved of her play, therefore, Nina and her troupe of four would be leaving for London in two months… she couldn't be more proud of the story she wrote based on her great-grandparents' romance, "The Best Year". Nina quickly forwarded the message to Anna, Felix and Ben-Ami, her colleagues, congratulating them all and inviting them to celebrate with her at their favorite beach bar. There would be lots of work to do until September 25th.

…

As she lay in her bed later that night, her lap top in front of her and a glass of wine perched on her nightstand, Nina finally remembered Ian's email and opened up her laptop. Eva lay sprawled next to her, sleeping so hard it was almost like she fainted. Eva's mouth hung slightly open and she drooled on Nina's pillow, snoring slightly and once in while snoring like a pig. Nina just chuckled and hoped her daughter's sleeping etiquette would improve before high school.

Nina slipped on her red-framed retro reading glasses and sighed deeply as she read the first line of her ex-boyfriend's correspondence… _Dear Nina_…

"_A while ago I saw your documentary on Balkan Folk Dances on TV, you can't imagine how overwhelming it was for me to see your face on TV, I mean, not like it never happened before but because It made me realize how long it's been since we've actually seen each other… I must say, your webcam does you know justice!_

_Almost a week ago, Flora, my daughter she came up to me and said she wanted to see if it was really black, the sea I mean. I lied to her and said I didn't know. That summer we spent together touring Romania and Turkey seemed so far away to me… a decade away. I really want to see you, my best friend again, in Bulgaria. I want my daughter to unravel the world's mysteries on her own._

_I guess what I'm trying to say here, between a glass of scotch or two, is that I'll be in Bulgaria in a week and I want to know if you'll be there, if we'll be able to see each other, go to the beach, talk all night long like we used to. There's so much I need to tell you, that I couldn't for the life of me say through Skype or this…_

_So, where are you? How are you? Will you be there? Do you want to be there?_

_I miss you—and love you—tons,_

_Ian_

As Nina finished reading she was stupefied. She couldn't help but go back to those sentences, those few little words that could represent perhaps the revival of who they used to be, as best friends and as a couple. She really didn't know what to say to him… _"Dear Ian, I miss you too! Of course I'll have you and Flora over, in fact, don't make any hotel reservations, you're sleeping with me on my bed! By the way, I'm in Varna, right on the coast; I'm only due in Sofia by the end of July. Yours truly, Nina…"_ Like she'd ever write something so ludicrous… Didn't mean she didn't want to, it just meant that she knew it would always stay platonic.

Nina sighed and drank the rest of her wine replying like a friend with no romantic intentions would: _"Ian! God, I miss you too! You and Flora are very welcome to stay at my beach home here in Varna, I'd be very glad to show you guys around and Eva would be delighted to have some company! Email me with your travel details! Love, Nina…"_ No, too many exclamation points, what was she trying to sound like, a squealing teenager? Someone desperate for company? A sex-deprived thirty-year old, because sadly, that's what she had become.

Nina could already tell she wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

* * *

**_Everyone thank you so much for the reviews! I'm deeply sorry for the delay but I had last minute illustrations to finish for a friends new book and also with Carnival happening here in Brazil, couldn't miss out on that for nothing in the world! _**

**_I hope you enjoyed this chapter, only God knows how many times I wrote and re-wrote it!_**

**_Remember, feedback is love!_**


	4. Chapter Two

** Thank you all for the lovely reviews and for following and favoriting! To us who right stories, they are what motivates us.**

**And remember, feedback is love!**

**-Alice**

* * *

Saturday rolled in like a blink of the eye. Ian looked around his living room, toys, papers, pencils and glitter glues scattering the otherwise neat floor. 2 am and Flora was long asleep, however, the night was never over for a parent at 8:30 pm. He still had this whole room to tidy and clean, bills to pay, emails to read and write, the next day's supper to prepare. This was life as a single, working father; sleeping hours from 4 to 7 am. Sometimes he'd take an afternoon nap while the kid was in school… but most of the time he'd be working. On set, off set, ISF…

Ruthie, the nanny would arrive at seven and help with Flora's laundry and feed her breakfast. He would have to leave extra early to finish his character's last two scenes and afterwards, they'd be heading to lunch with his mother, for goodbye's sakes.

Sunday they would finally be leaving for Miami where they would hop on another plane to London and from there on Sofia International Airport in Bulgaria, from which they would grab the train to Varna the next morning. Travelling with a small child made spending the night at Nina's cousin's hostel paramount. She'd been the one to convince him of travelling by train. Apparently he'd fall in love with the Bulgarian scenery. He believed her.

He heard his phone ring and knew immediately that it was her checking in. Nina was the only one who thought it normal to call people at 4 in the morning, but then again, she knew him all too well… He reached for the phone on his desk and answered.

"_So, given up yet?_" He chuckled and replied with a decisive no. He missed this part of their friendship, always talking, laughing and being one hundred percent honest with each other. There was definitely only one person who knew him as well as his mother and that person was Nina. They had had seven years of friendship, three years and a half of dating and an entire year of him trying to woo her before that. After the break-up though, for an entire year things had been different, they'd been different, awkward. He had no idea how they won the award for best chemistry… They simply hadn't been feeling it that season and their characters certainly not either. Sure, by the time they fell into normalcy again—in what, March?—he still missed her greatly, especially at night. He never acted on it though and she certainly gave him no clue as to what her feelings were, if she still wanted him. So they put the love in the backburner.

"How's the beach these days?" Ian asked nonchalantly, he felt sort of guilty for not paying attention to what she'd been rambling for the past two minutes; something about work and London… he'd ask later.

_"Full of annoying American tourists, now that they found their new Havana…"_ Ian snickered; Nina's voice was laced with that dark humor, typical of her. "_I'm just kidding, annoying or not they are what sustains Bulgaria… with the crisis getting worse by the day… How's Flora?" _

"She's good, anxious as ever."

_ "I've already set up a second bed in Eva's room for her… you mind?" _

"No, of course not, thanks Nin. Is Eva okay with it though?"

_"Yeah, apparently she's always wanted a sister... According to her I failed miserably by not noticing and communicating the local stork."_ Ian laughed and he could hear her velvety chuckle from the other side of the line. _"Oh, the evil munchkin's up… I have to go, Ian. Get some sleep and… call me later?" _

Ian chuckled at her unconventional ways and bid his goodbyes. As he leaned deeper into his leather chair, twirling the phone in his hands he couldn't help but think how long it was since he slept under the same roof as a woman, well, besides his mother and Ruthie on occasion. Never had he allowed for a woman to come into his home, not after there had been and still was so much suffering on Flora's part when it came to separation from her mother.

Maybe this could be like testing waters a bit… if he was successful at being with a woman without Flora getting so attached, maybe this could mean he could try and start over… give love another chance. God knows he really wanted to.

…

Nina had left Eva with her neighbor and her kids for a while as she headed off to the market place to buy fresh fish, vegetables and flowers to liven up the old house. Ever since her latest phone call with Ian she had been worried. She knew he had spaced out on her and that simple fact made her feel self-conscious. She never should have invited to stay at her house… what had she been thinking?! Did she really believe that after so many years he could still be harboring feelings for her? The idea sounded as delusional and unrealistic as harlequin novels.

The market was full today. Several stands showcasing colorful fruits and vegetables… others smelling as intense as the spices in the flour sacks… To Nina the market was like a place of wonders, a legitimate bazaar where you could find everything from needles to cheeses to animals. However, the only animals in this market were the dead fish and seafood.

It was a very warm, very humid day, the place was packed with people and loud music could be heard from speakers installed in random stalls. Women went about their shopping in light colored cotton and linen clothing, brown and black hairs up or in braids because of the heat. Men wore light t-shirts or button ups with rolled sleeves as they worked or carried things around for their spouses. The chubby widows sat on chairs next to their favorite stands conversing happily and giving unwanted advises on the use of certain herbs, dressed in black despite the heat and silk black scarves with colorfully embroidered flowers, birds and butterflies tied to their heads.

Nina's wicker shopping bag was full and heavy, so as she exited the large building she stopped at a small café and asked for some Shopska salad* and a nice and cold grape juice. As Nina asked for some extra Sirene, a Bulgarian cheese resembling feta, to be sprinkled on top of her food she heard a familiar voice from behind her. As she turned around Nina was surprised to see Velian, an old friend from her teenage years who she happened to be soloist with in some of her many folk dances.

Velian saw and recognized her, irradiating a smile. He was just as handsome as she remembered with dark curly hair and big honey-colored eyes with long dark lashes and well-defined eyebrows that made him look all the more mysterious. His plump lips were as pink as ever as he paraded a charming pair of dimples and his sexy stubble.

"Nikolina, long time no see! How have you been?" Velian exclaimed pulling Nina in for the obligatory three kisses on the cheeks and a tight friendly hug that left Nina's skin tingling and cheeks burning in both embarrassment and attraction.

"Yes, yes, a long time indeed. I've been great, working a lot… Are you still dancing?" Nina couldn't help but notice the slenderness of his body or his well-defined muscles, especially those of his legs, well noticeable through the jeans.

"Yes, yes. When will you pay us a visit at the national dance academy to teach this new generation of dancers what it really is to dance?" Nina laughed. Deep down, despite being happy with her job as an actress and writer and also her occasional art projects there was still a great part of her that would always long for the dancing, the hard work, the bittersweet pain, the music, the joy and the energy that dance brought to her life. To meet Velian here like this, immediately reminding her of what had been, it really made her feel unsteady… a happy and nostalgic clutter of emotions.

"Whenever you'll have me. Are you in Varna for the festival?" Nina asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Yes, yes. This year it will be extra special because Mr. Baryshnikov will be present and honored this year, also, it's the first time a choreography of mine was selected to be performed by the academy… I'm very nervous and excited. And you? I heard you became an actress… I even watched a few seasons of the Vampire Diaries and a few films of yours. You're very talented, Dobreva."

"Thank you. Why don't we sit down outside, it feels like we're in an oven in here." Velian agreed and followed her outside. As they sat on a two person table with a giant pink parasol, each of them digging into their meals, discussing how Bulgarian theatre and dance finally seemed to be getting more acknowledgment outside of the country, Velian put his hand on top of Nina's, caressing it softly. Nina was surprised and felt oddly giddy. She didn't remove her hand. Staring into Velian's eyes, Nina was mesmerized by the youth and adoration reflected in them. She liked what she saw, she was loving the way she was feeling.

* * *

*Shopska is a typical Bulgarian dish that is a refreshing salad of tomatoes, peppers, onion and parsley in a vinaigrette dressing (I made some here at home, it's really good), topped by Sirene cheese which resembles feta.


End file.
